Istocno Novo Sarajevo mural: suspect N. K. released
Police spokeswoman Vesna Stokanovic told Srna that N. K. was released in the evening after questioning, and a report on the offense will go to the BiH Prosecutor's Office.
The East Sarajevo Police Administration has confirmed that the man identified by the initials N. K., arrested a day earlier over an inscription on a mural in Istocno Novo Sarajevo, is free again. He is a Sarajevo native suspected of writing the word “genocidaires” on the mural on the facade of a residential building, and the case has drawn political reactions in the neighboring entity.
East Sarajevo Police Administration spokeswoman Vesna Stokanovic told Srna that N. K. was released last night after questioning. We reported on his arrest earlier; at that point all that was known was that he had been detained, and now it is clear how the proceedings continue. According to the spokeswoman, once the case is documented, a report on the criminal offense will be filed against him with the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Police gave no deadline for this, and until the competent authorities decide, N. K. remains a suspect and guilt has not been established.
What happened at the mural in Istocno Novo Sarajevo?
On Tuesday, October 20, the Istocno Novo Sarajevo police station received a report that an unknown person had damaged the Republika Srpska flag mural on a residential building in the town. Reports say the inscription “genocidaires” appeared on the mural the same day. Police released only the suspect’s initials, not his full name, and that is the only official confirmation of his identity so far.
Accounts also differ on how to describe the mural itself. Some outlets call it a mural of the Serbian tricolor, while the police wording relayed by Srna refers to a mural of the Republika Srpska flag. The event has not been described the same way even in pieces relying on the same statement from the spokeswoman.
What did Branimir Kojic say about the case?
Branimir Kojic also spoke out over the desecration, telling Srna it was a deliberate attack by radical organizations. He names Nihad Alickovic, leader of the Sarajevo Anti-Dayton Movement, as their front man, and claims Alickovic filed a criminal complaint over the drawing of the flag. Kojic described it this way:
“He goes a step further by filing a criminal complaint against East Sarajevo Mayor Ljubisa Cosic and Istocno Novo Sarajevo Municipality Head Jovan Katic, as well as against unknown persons, over the drawing of a flag in Republika Srpska, imagining that he and phenomena like him can determine who will draw and where the flag for which our loved ones gave their lives.”
In the same address Kojic put a question to Alickovic:
“What message does Alickovic want to send with what he is doing: that violence against the Serb people and the symbols of Republika Srpska is allowed and normal?”
Kojic called on the BiH Court and Prosecutor’s Office to deal with those who, in his words, incite conflict and raise ethnic tensions, and said incitement to violence is punishable. In his statement he also named the person he considers the perpetrator. We do not repeat that name here: police published only the initials N. K., no court proceedings have begun, and Kojic’s claim is not backed by any official data. Alickovic’s side is not presented in the available sources, so his claims about complaints against local officials cannot be verified from the statement.
What happens next?
The next step is the report to the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, which police prepare once they finish documenting the case. Only then will it be known how the offense will be classified and whether the proceedings go further. Until then, the only confirmed facts are that the mural was damaged, that the report reached police on October 20, that one person was arrested, and that he was released after questioning.
